Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Resigns After Botched Healthcare Site Launch

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who oversaw the launch of the Obamacare website last October, announced Friday she is resigning from her position.

Sebelius' announcement came the same day she told a Senate committee on Capitol Hill that 400,000 more people signed up for policies at HealthCare.gov this week, ABC News reported. The addition brings the total number of people who signed up to 7.5 million. Sebelius said she expects that number will continue to rise.

But Sebelius' tenure as health secretary was marked by criticism over the failed launch of the healthcare site, set up following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The website crashed after its Oct. 1, 2013 launch, followed by a slew of problems including low enrollment numbers and health plan cancelations.

Sebelius said during one of many hearings on Capitol Hill about the website that she was responsible for the fiasco.

"Hold me accountable for the debacle. I'm responsible," Sebelius, 65, told the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the end of October.

Sebelius told President Barack Obama, who appointed her to the position in 2009, last month that she would step down after the enrollment period ended, CNN reported. White House officials said the decision to resign was entirely her own.

"The President is deeply grateful for her service," an official told CNN.

The HHS office released a statement after Sebelius' announcement.

"From her work on Head Start, to expanding mental health coverage, to advancing cutting-edge health care research and, of course, her unwavering leadership in implementing the Affordable Care Act, Secretary Sebelius often calls her work here the most meaningful of her life," the statement said according to ABC News.

"As she closes this chapter, Secretary Sebelius is extremely thankful to President Obama and very proud of the historic accomplishments of this Administration."

Obama is expected to appoint Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, as Sebelius' replacement, CNN reported.